George Voinovich: “I rise to address the critical issue that is before the Senate--reform of our intelligence community and restructuring…”

“I rise to address the critical issue that is before the Senate--reform of our intelligence community and restructuring of the Federal Government to enhance our ability to wage the global war on terror and protect our Nation from other threats. I commend Senators Collins and Lieberman and their staffs for their hard work and leadership on this issue, and I am proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation. I also thank the Senate leadership for making this a priority. There is no issue more important for us to address. In fact, I believe this legislation is the most important I have worked on since coming to the Senate in 1999. The war on terror is unlike any conflict we have fought--covert holy warriors seeking to infiltrate our society and those of our allies to do us grievous harm. Against this radical enemy, intelligence is of the greatest importance. We must do everything we can to strengthen our intelligence capabilities. If you think of what we need to do about terrorism, we need to attack, we need to prevent, and we need to prepare. Intelligence is the greatest weapon we have in all three of those categories.”